ILOILO CITYpinaswin88, Philippines — Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan remains the country’s top tourist destination, especially during the Yuletide.

Mayor Frolibar Bautista said the island received 25,000 tourists from Dec. 23 to 25.

On Dec. 26 alone, the local government estimated the number of tourists at around 10,000.

Before the holidays, Bautista said Boracay received from 5,000 to 6,000 visitors per day. 

Records from the municipal tourism office showed 79,357 people visited Boracay from Dec. 1 to 15.

The figure included 63, 240 local visitors, 15,182 foreigners and 935 overseas Filipino workers.

In November, Boracay received 162,451 visitors, Bautista said, adding that local tourists remain as the foundation of the Malay tourism industry.

The poll body said 249,343 registered voters were canceled because of deaths as certified by local civil registrars.

Angelina Khodotova, project manager of SRPOST Inc., said the project – funded by the South Korean government and the European Research Coordination Agency (Eureka) – has been on the table of the city government since 2021.

Bautista said the number of European tourists in Boracay increased recently. 

He attributed the increase in the number of European visitors to the participation of Boracay in the World Travel Market  London 2024. 

Prior to the London  tourism event, Bautista said that Boracay’s top visitors were mostly Chinese and South Koreans.

He said the West Philippine Sea issue could have affected the arrival of  Chinese visitors in Boracay.pinaswin88